and boy was it awesome.  It's one thing to read about it and another thing to actually experience a bass hammer your buzzbait.  He got off though.  How do you set the hook with a buzzbait?

 

This fish was literally about a foot away from the shore at a pond today and just exploded out of nowhere.

It just happens. Keep at it though!

Cool! I haven't had one yet but I now it's coming soon !...

wait till you feel the weight of the fish on your rod then set the hook...but him hitting you that close sure it happened immediately

Fish miss topwaters, just part of the game. Like was already said, wait until you feel the weight of the fish before you set the hook. Just be glad that topwaters are even still an option for you in mid December. 

Following up a missed topwater bite with a senko or trick worm is also helpful.

Ya, just keep reeling until you feel the fish then firmly sweep the rod, with the open hook it should be easier to get a hookset but buzzbait hooks are usually decently thick so it still needs some force to get it in good.

Like bluebasser said you need to get used to the horrible feeling of seeing a bass completely miss your topwater, sometimes they miss it by a long shot too lol!

I hate when they hit super close on anything. Scares me to death every time.

If you notice you are reacting too quick to the blow up frequently, train yourself by not watching the bait and use your ears and feel through your hands to react.